Oh, vacation. How we love you so! Until we have to snap back to reality and realize that no one did our grocery shopping for us while we were away and the pantry is empty (rude!). In this blog, I’m going to share my top 3 tips for how to plan ahead so that you can get back on track as soon as possible when vacation comes to an end. Before I get into the 3 tips, the overarching theme here is planning ahead. When you come up with a plan to set yourself up for success, you’re more likely to succeed. While this seems simple, you’d be surprised how easy it is to overlook this. When you know you’ve got a trip to come up, take a few minutes to plan for what you need to do to make sure you’re ready to get right back into your healthy lifestyle as you re-enter the real world. Use these 3 tips for guidance:

  1. Stock the freezer with healthy, already made meals. There are two ways that you can do this: Double and freeze the recipes that you cook several weeks or months in advance so that you’ve got freezer meals that are cooked and ready to reheat and eat. For example, if you’re making chili one week, double the batch and freeze half for future use. If you don’t plan THAT far ahead, you can always just make sure you’ve got some raw meat and veggies in the freezer that you can thaw and cook for an easy meal.
    1. To supplement the frozen food you have at home, plan to make a quick grocery trip to pick up a few fresh produce items to complement your meals.

Photo cred: andreadekker.com

2. Purchase/order already made-for-you meals (like Snap Kitchen, etc.). If you let someone else do the cooking for you, it will be one less thing that you have to think about. Plus, these services make it easy for you to order them well in advance so that all you have to do is pick them up when you get back home from your trip.

Photo cred: 89sun.club

3. Have your workouts scheduled with a trainer and/or prioritized in your calendar for your first week back. The sooner you jump back into your workout routine, the better! You’ll feel refreshed and ready to get back to some good workouts that make you feel like you can take on the world. Plus, when you’ve got the accountability of your trainer, it’s harder to skip it and “just start fresh next week”.

It’s your turn! Apply what you learned today:

Follow the tips above to plan for a successful re-entry into the real world when you return from vacation. My biggest piece of advice above anything I’ve talked about here is to make your plan BEFORE you leave for your trip. Consider it part of your to-do list for preparing for travel so that you don’t have to stress when you get back or feel bad because you don’t have easy access to the healthy foods that make you feel your best. If you don’t plan before leaving for your trip, the next best option is to write your grocery list while on the plane ride (or car ride) back so that you know exactly what you need to be fully stocked with healthy foods.